Shirts
by The StripedHatter
Summary: Beast Boy and his shirts, man. BBRae, as always. Casualish.
1. Chapter 1

In order to recognize how I feel at this moment, you have to take a stroll backwards in time, a couple days perhaps.

It began with the usual morning activities, admiring my lean and wiry nineteen year old body while thinking to myself, _'What a stud.'_ Fumbling through my room, which I kept cleaner since a year ago aside from the heaps of clothing, I tried to find _it_. Today would be the day, the day that I finally grew the nerves to give her _The Necklace_.

Yes, _The Necklace_, with capitals and all. Guy de Maupassant wrote it. I totally forget his first name, but it's beside the point at the moment.

See, two weeks before then, I had said that I once read a story about a French lady who lost a necklace. She had the gall to _snort_. Sure, the whole, _'I can show emotion now'_ is cool; I mean, more of a chance that she'll laugh at my master jokes. But it also makes it just that much more obvious that she thinks I'm stupid… I'm not though! I know what gall means!

Anyways, there I was, standing outside the main ops. room, when the door opens from the inside. She looks back at me with a look that crosses between bored and confused. After a second of just standing there, staring at each other, I smile and hold up a very thin book.

Oblivious as usual, she raises a brow. "And?"

"And? And this is it!"

"I fail to share your enthusiasm."

"_The Necklace_, by Guy De Maupassant. Remember how I told you about the French lady losing her friend's necklace? Here it is!"

She reached out for it, flipping through the pages as she skimmed. "Figures. Twenty-eight pages. Don't strain yourself, Gar." Shoving the book into my chest, she marched right past me.

I can't help it, my eyes follow her until she turns around a corner and then I'm left standing there, staring at that corner for the next five minutes. The woman cannot be pleased! I groan as I turn around to get myself breakfast. As I look down at the book, I realize I have a tear the size of my fist at the lower right of my Adidas shirt.

"When did that get there?"

.:..:..:.

So when the next day came rolling around, I was excessively tired. The day before, just as I was finishing my tofu eggs, we were called out to stop Cinderblock from robbing a bank. Then shortly after, some gang fight in the middle of the airport. And after that, we had to deal with some whack job who had strapped bombs to himself and threatened to blow up a neighborhood, all while some giant moths attacked us at _the same time_.

It got intense.

But this is off topic. In short, we didn't get home until three in the morning. I woke up around eight after I heard a loud crash. Since I was too lazy last night to really change, I was running into the kitchen in just my white and purple costume pants.

"What happened?"

"Beast Boy?" Raven blinked, "Oh, nothing. I just dropped a pan."

I scrunched up my nose. "You're cooking?"

"No, I just washed and dried my dishes, so I figure I may as well do everybody else's. Since they'll never get done otherwise," she glanced at the sink, "Just finished putting them away."

"Oh… okay."

She smirked and approached me. I had no idea what she was going to do, so I stiffened a bit with every step she took closer. I soon realized that she was walking past me, not towards me. But as she brushed past my side, she hit the palm of her hand on my chest twice.

"Nice shirt," she said as she exited the room.

And once again, I found myself staring after her shadow.

.:..:..:.

I had spent the rest of the day thinking. She was _killing_ me. I couldn't think about anything not about her. I couldn't sleep without dreaming about her being next to me when I woke up. I couldn't go _anywhere _without her being there to make me feel stupid for drooling at her retreating figure.

Why does this feel like a crappy romantic sitcom?

I didn't sign up for this! But no, I was dragged along this crazy parade and forced to work with such tyrannical women. What did I ever do to deserve this?

Finding myself asking more questions than discovering answers, I give up. I stand from my bed and head into the ops room to play some late night video games. It's eleven maybe, and I didn't expect anybody to be up. Nightwing, perhaps, but he would be in his room.

So imagine my immense _glee _at finding Raven sitting at the end of the couch, tea in hand. She seemed a bit vacant, as if thinking, staring past the far wall.

After a bit of consideration, I move from my spot in the doorway to grab a bag of Doritos and plop down beside her. A bit closer than I had intended, but I didn't mind. She didn't even notice.

"Staring at people is unbecoming, Gar." Spoke too soon.

"Just wanted to make sure you were alive."

Her head turned slowly. "And if I weren't?"

"Uh…"

She smirked lightly and stood up, "Yeah, I get that a lot," and she moved to the kitchen to take care of her mug. "Have any extra laundry that I should add to your load? I'm waiting for Starfire's to finish, then you're up last."

"You're sure doing a lot of chores, Raven."

She shrugged and glanced at me, "It's my turn this week."

"Oh, well. Nah, just what I got in there. Probably a big enough load anyways."

She snorted, _again_. "You're telling me."

I huff and take a handful of nacho flavored chips from the bag, getting my hands all cheesy. I watch her, again, as she goes to check on the laundry. "So much for gaming."

The silence is my only company for the next five minutes until Raven gets back.

"Alright, so you think you can handle waiting another thirty minutes until your clothes are dry? I'll take them out, but I'm not folding."

I shrug noncommittally, "Sure."

She nods and searches around the room for a book. Once she does, we sit together in complete silence until a dim beeping is heard. "Done," she announces and leaves for the laundry room.

When she comes back with a basket stacked high with clothes, I resist the urge to groan. I have to carry all that back to my room.

"I can trust you to take care of it?"

"Yeah, yeah."

Her lips turn up at the sides by just a fraction, "Great. See you tomorrow." She heads for the hallways, and just as the door closes behind her, she calls out, "Nice shirt decals!"

"What…?" Crazy woman. But as I look down at my plain white tank top, I notice a couple lovely orange hand prints smeared along the front. "Great."

.:..:..:.

So here I am now, jaw dropped open and as of five seconds ago no longer bleary eyed with tire. I suppose it happened yesterday, when she did my laundry. That's when she took it. When else? Coming down here for breakfast at such an hour as six thirty has brought me to that time where Nightwing has come and gone and Raven has just arrived.

It was early, so nobody really bothered to change out of their pajamas. I wore regular, dark purple sweats this morning. It was a relatively warm night so I felt no need for a shirt. Besides, as of late I've been having bad luck with shirts.

Karma won't rest until it has made its point, though, and whatever I did to offend the world I sincerely apologize for; because Raven was wearing her pj's, too. Well, not hers. A large black, short sleeve shirt that hung loosely around her shoulders and ended just above the knees.

Speaking of knees, mine are weak.

"Raven?"

She turns from her plate of waffles, butter knife in hand. "Yes?"

"Uh-hum. Hi."

She smiles crudely, "Hi. Like the shirt?"

That woman… that woman _kills_ me.


	2. Chapter 2

**Okay. So I decided I wanted to add more to this story, but I had no idea what to do. And this just... happened. I don't even know. Let me know what you think! Thanks for the reviews, guys.**

* * *

Lips pursed, I sat in a chair with a plate of untouched waffles in front of me. Raven had kindly prepared me a fresh plate for breakfast, one that had been warm twenty minutes ago. Since she set the meal in front of me I've been sitting and thinking.

Although, the thinking part was a bit hard when she decided it would be cool to sit directly across from me while she ate her own waffles.

She was done now, but she didn't get up. It startled me when she started to speak, though.

"Are you going to be okay?"

I could only assume my face resembled a deer caught in headlights. "Huh?"

She reached a hand across the table to grasp mine. "Vorbiţi engleză?"

I snatched my hand away with a scowl, "Kidogo tu."

Her hand snaked back down to her side. "I'm afraid I don't speak much of any African dialect. Sorry. Try German, or Sanskrit. Or select ancient languages." She stood, and my eyes trailed along the edges of my shirt on her curves.

Maybe it wouldn't be so bad to… get used to this sight in the morning.

_Nuh-uh! Bad Gar!_

"I see that this is a bit unsettling for you, perhaps I should chang-"

"No! " I leapt up after her, grasping her wrist. "I mean, uh," I released her and stood straight to scratch my neck. "I mean uh, don't bother. I'll just… I'll. Yeah, Imma go make sure I have all of my pants." And with that I scurried away to my room, waffles left behind.

.:..:..:.

"I'm just gonna play it cool, no worries," I tell myself in the mirror. "The fact that Raven wore my shirt does _not _affect me at all."

It was maybe three in the afternoon now, and time for training. I was back in my uniform and preparing myself for the spars that Nightwing had planned. I have no idea who he chose for partners, or how many rounds we were going, but I hoped against all odds that I'm not put with her.

Of course, there I stand a half hour later with Raven on the mats.

"All right," Nightwing started, "So we're all going to end up fighting against everybody before we're done today. I've started with who I see as the least combatable first. Mat one, Raven and Beast Boy. Beast Boy has greater strength and speed," He paused when I whooped in manly victory, "And Raven has a higher defense and intelligence."

And with that she smirked and my smile fell into a pout.

"Mat two, Starfire and Cyborg with near equivalent strength. Starfire with more speed and defense, Cyborg with more analytical skills. I'll be ref for the first round."

We nodded in understanding.

"Good. Titans, go!"

Raven wasted no time in throwing a blast of black energy right at my chest. "Woah!" I morphed into a mouse to dodge. I scurried over to where her shadow reached the mouse from where she hovered and shifted into bear to counterattack.

She moved out of the way and used her powers to smack the mat up into me, causing me to loose balance and fall back in human form.

I decided to make this interesting, so as I picked myself up and pounced on her in the form of a tiger I spoke. "You've been messing with me on purpose, haven't you?"

"I have no idea what you mean." She easily parried by throwing up a shield and teleporting behind me.

I whirled and had just enough time to jump out of the way of a dumbbell being tossed at my head. "You know you do. Why?"

She growled a bit, reaching out with her powers for an even heavier dumbbell to chuck at me. "Why what? Why are you having issues-" She ducked under my paw, "with maintaining your shirts?"

"No, why are you… screwing with my mind?"

"And how exactly is it that I've messed with your mind?"

She decided to change tactics and dropped to sweep my feet out from under me, but I jumped over her outstretched leg. However, she reached up and shoved at my stomach, causing me to land hard on my back.

"By… by making me feel-" I rolled out of the way from an incoming kick, "feel stuff."

I put my hands by my head and flipped myself up.

"No need to skirt around the topic, I know precisely what you felt."

Throwing a punch for her stomach in an upward hook, I managed a deep scowl. "I thought you weren't going to read our emotions without permission."

She wasn't able to block in time, and was sent flying across the mat, skidding about a foot. I ran towards her to continue my attack. "There are stronger emotions," She winced as she rolled away from my kick this time, "that I can't help but sense." She sunk into a portal on the ground. "Whether I want to or not."

The voice came from above me, and I turned right as she fell on me, pinning me in a rather awkward position. My right arm was pinned behind me, left pressed between our stomachs. Our legs were tangled, mine bent oddly outwards.

Her left arm pressed across my neck and her right was poised and ready to blast my face to bits. I heard silence, and I realized that Cyborg and Star had finished. I can't tell who won, because Raven's face is in front of mine and her hair curtains around our peripherals.

All I see are her indigo eyes, glittering and staring into my own green gaze. I can smell her lavender soaps, made up natural ingredients and intoxicating fragrances. I'm so overwhelmed that I don't notice our decreasing distance until she whispers to me.

"That's… odd."

"What is?" _Why is my voice cracking?_

"Your emotions are different than anything I've felt from you since…" She trailed off. "Since a very long time. I can't figure out what it is."

"Oh?" I mange weakly.

"Mmm, probably because I'm not reading you."

"That's probably a good thing."

She nods slowly, and her moving hair tickles at my face and neck. When she finally gets off of me, I find Nightwing looking at us intently, Cyborg sporting a smirk, and Starfire smiling brightly.

"Okay," our leader said, "Let us continue. Round two."

.:..:..:.

I was tired and rather beat up when I plopped onto my bed ten minutes ago. A knock sounded on my door, and I grunted. "Unlocked!"

"Doesn't the door reset itself every time the door closes?"

Raven, fabulous. "Yeah, just wanted to see who it was." I rolled off the bed with a loud _thud _and walked sluggishly over to the door to open it. "Whaddya want?"

She shoved me harshly into the room and closed the door behind her. Weaving her way around various obstacles on the floor, she guided me to the bed.

"Uhh…"

"Relax Gar," she pushed me into a sitting position on the bed and settled next to me, "I'm just checking to make sure you're okay."

"Well, damaged ego and pride but-" I stopped as she started to poke and prod. Her hands roamed over me, testing various parts of me for damage. When she pushed on my lower stomach and found me wincing, she went to work healing it.

I swallowed something dry and rough. "You're doing it again."

"What?"

"You know what."

"Actually, this time I'm feeling that unknown emotion from you right now." She removed her hands but leaned forwards a couple inches, stealing my breath. "I… I would like permission to read it."

I don't know what the emotion is myself, and I figure it must be nice to know. "If you promise to tell me what it is, then I give you my permission."

She nodded and closed her eyes, concentrating on my emotions. Her eyes shot open after a moment her mouth parting.

"Well, what is it?"

Her eyes bore into mine with such an intensity, I could have sworn she was leaning closer. So I figure, what would it hurt to lean in, too?

I'm met, however, with cold air as she falls into a portal.

It's only after a couple minutes of sitting there and staring at the wall that I realize she never told me what it was I was feeling.

"Gah, why am I stuck with merciless women!?" I burrow my head in my pillow. "_Zees kiwwin' 'eh._"

.:..:..:.

It's a week later and she acting as if nothing happened, as if we're just like we were a month ago. Everybody is sitting in the main ops room, Nightwing and Starfire cuddled up and flipping through the Newspaper. Cyborg is playing video games and Raven is stuck comfortably in the corner of the couch, reading and sipping tea.

I've just walked in, and watching Raven was infuriating me. She didn't seem to even remember anything that happened lately. She did seem to notice my anger, though. She reluctantly lifted her head and her curious eyes soon narrowed in bewilderment. "What?"

Now, I realized that when she said that the other three put their attention on us. But I really didn't care. Her play obliviousness pushed me off the cliff.

"What!?" I waved my arms around wildly, "What do you mean what? You are driving me _insane_!" I approach her with a hardening expression. She tries to lean back, but ends up flat against the couch as I get all up in her face. "What are you doing to me?"

"Uh-pah, um… wh-" She splutters senselessly. I shake my head violently.

"Nuh, you are going to tell me what game you're playing before I invade your personal space. Because you know that I _will_ break everything in your room, including your mirror. I can't take this anymore, Rae."

She blinked her wide eyes and flapped her mouth. Finally, she cleared her throat. "Ahm, you want to know what you were feeling in your room?"

"That, too!" I moved closer yet. "You never told me!"

"I can't!"

"You just said you would!"

"Stop yelling at me!"

"Then just tell me!"

"Why are you wearing that shirt!?"

"Because it's mine!"

"When did you get it back!?"

"I stole it back from your laundry!"

"I would have given it back!"

"Raven! Stop getting off topic!"

She gripped my shirt and violently pulled me to her, smashing my lips onto hers. After two seconds, in which my eyes were as big as my skull, she shoved me off. "Is that on topic enough for you!?"

I fell back onto my rear, eyes still wide and lips still puckered. It was a solid thirty seconds later that I began functioning again. I scrambled to my feet and glared down at her. "Yes!"

"Good!" she hollered back before rising from the couch and stalking towards the door.

"Thanks for cooperating!"

"My pleasure!"

"I can't stand you!"

"I can't be around you for more than two minutes!"

"Glad we feel the same!"

"I'm going to borrow a shirt for tonight!"

"Take the North Face one, it's the comfiest!

"Thanks!"

"You're welcome!"

She exited with a huff and the doors slid shut.

I turned around to face my audience, their mouths dropped open and brows raised. "What?"

Nightwing shook his head, "What was _that_?"

I crossed my arms, "She wanted to borrow a shirt to sleep in. So I let her. Problem?" He shook his head yet again, hair flopping this way and that.

"No, what was with the yelling match right there?"

"Oh," I smiled. "I think that means she hates me."

"And… you're cool with that?" Cyborg asked.

I shrug, "Hey. As long as she's kissing me like that, I'm game."

Starfire giggled. "Then I suppose you will have to do the purchasing of more shirts."

"Huh?" I scrunch my nose and look down to find eight finger sized tears on either side of my shirt's chest. "Oh."

* * *

**I don't even know. XD**


	3. Chapter 3

**Alright... so this started out as a one-shot... then a two-shot... and here's a third. No more, no more! I'd have no idea what to do after this. Somebody asked me to finish this off, though. So here goes. Hope it turned out okay and gives a bit of a more solid ending.**

**For Cherry Blossom Slushy.**

**I want to thank everybody for the encouraging reviews, I appreciate every one of them and they really do make my day{s}. I also forgot to thank RavingReveiwer for the advice last time. I'll be trying to correct on that.**

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I have to say, I'm feeling a little deprived right now. It's been about two weeks since Raven first kissed me, and it hasn't happened again. Not once. And she never gave my shirt back!

It _is_… suppose I should start saying _was, _my favorite. I loaned it to her… didn't wrap it up with a bow. In mourning my loss over the ever so wonderful North Face, my forgotten game character fell off a cliff over and over again due to my thumb pushing the joystick forward without caution.

"Some master-gamer you are," a voice taunted from behind me. I jumped, this time the orange animal jumping over the gap as I accidentally pushed a button. Of course, two seconds later he was rammed into by a goat. "Can't even play Crash Bandicoot."

When I whirled around to face her, I lost balance and fell off the couch. She snorted and circled around the furniture, reaching down a hand. I batted her away with a scowl and a flush of my cheeks, scrambling up to my feet on my own.

"Alright, I'll give. Why so sour?"

I looked at her with a frown. "Why so sour?"

"Pardon?"

"Pardon?"

"Beast Boy."

"Beast Boy."

"_Garfield_."

"Fine. I was just wondering when-"

"Here," she drew something from under her cloak, grey cloth, and offered it to me.

"Oh." I took it and unfolded it. My North Face!

"Is that all, you big baby?" She smirked. "Just wanted your precious shirt?"

"_No,_" I said immediately just to contradict her.

I kind of regret it when she raises a challenging brow. "No?"

"No," I say with false confidence. But a strong sense of resolve bloomed within me, no matter how lame it sounds, and I gather as much courage as I can muster. "It's not. I've got a question for you."

"Oh? And what would that question entail?"

I took a deep breath to try and steady myself. "What kind of dinner do you want tonight?"

She cocked her head lightly, but responded with an intent look, "I feel like Chinese, actually."

I grinned. "Yeah? Cool. Buffet or order?"

"Delivery, it's only Tuesday. I'd like to stay at home."

Nodding, I folded my arms behind my back. "Early, late, usual?"

"After the others have gone to bed," she smiled wryly, "Privacy."

I smiled back, much larger of course, but it was still a return. "Why, having a secret rendezvous with somebody?"

"Well that all depends. I may end up eating alone," she linked her fingers at her hip level, "or I may indeed be joined by a 'secret somebody'. Depends on if he's a no-show or not."

"Oh I assure you," I grinned, "Nobody would ever pass up a dinner with you."

She hummed and nodded. "Well, then. I'll be off to tell him when and where." Raven spun around and exited the room, leaving me befuddled and gaping.

.:..:..:.

This time as I'm moping, I'm sprawled across my bed with my face planted in my pillow. It makes breathing kind of hard… but I manage. I'm still trying to register the fact that Raven is going to have dinner with some guy that I may or may not know. After I've fallen asleep. Well, good luck to her. It's eleven at night and I'm still very much awake.

I thought we'd been making progress. But, now I guess not. My thoughts were still wallow-directed when they were interrupted by a knock on my door. I stood, ran a hand through my messy hair, and pulled the door open. To say my next statement was of surprise would be an understatement. I was perplexed. "Raven?"

"What are you wearing?"

I look down at myself, "Um… my uniform." That's when I realize what she's wearing. She had a pair of soft looking sweats and a hoodie on, both a dark grey, and her hair is pulled into a tiny ponytail at the back of her head. The strand that didn't reach fell around her round face, revealing the shape of her jaw.

My mouth felt dry, and it took a little bit of effort to spew my next sentence out. "Where is he?"

"Where is who?"

"You're uh… date?"

Her nose twitched in a way that had me struggling to stand.

"He has yet to arrive."

"Oh. When did you tell him?"

She raised a brow, "Just now."

"I thought you did that before lunch."

"No, no. I told him just now that it's in fifteen minutes on the roof. I've ordered dinner and it should be here in ten minutes."

"Oh, um… okay?"

"And he'd best be wearing something suitable for a take-out style dinner."

"Yeah…"

"If he doesn't show up, you'll be paying for your words of assurance earlier this morning." She gave me a pointed look and left.

I closed the door and headed back to my bed. Promptly, I fell back down on it and repositioned my face in the pillow. Why would Raven, usually so guarded about her private… things, tell me all of that stuff? Was she so happy that she didn't realize she was blabbering on to me? Or maybe she wanted me to go and interrupt, meet him maybe.

She said she'd told him 'just now', and gave him fifteen minutes to find, enter the tower, and make it all the way to the roof. Odd in two ways. One: 'just now' was when she was talking to me. Two: the only way somebody could make it from the bottom floor to the roof was if they were already here…

That's when I realized I had four minutes left to find some clean sweats, shove them on, and sprint to the roof.

.:..:..:.

Three months later I could be found pounding my head on my dresser drawer. I heard her come in, felt her wrap her arms around my waist from behind. "What is it, Gar?"

"I lost my North Face," I whimpered.

She hummed and I felt her smile against my back. Such a small smile, but I've gotten pretty good at detecting them. I turn in her embrace and looked her over. A sort of grimace crawled over my face as I see her wearing nothing but a men's shirt.

"Nice shirt," I saw weakly.

"I'd hope so, considering it's your favorite."

"Yeah…" This woman… this woman kills me. At least now I know she'll bring me back to life, because if she didn't she'd be single and alone. 'Sides, even if she tried to get me to leave her alone I'd never let her. I can't imagine a day without her.


End file.
